Ed Balls and Kate Garraway quizzed a Labour MP on GMB (Image: ITV)
Ed Balls has faced backlash for being “hypocritical” while discussing . He and his ITV co-star, , welcomed Labour MP Sarah Jones on to Good Morning Britain as they quizzed her on the priniciples of receiving gifts in parliament.
Ed was quite ruthless in his questioning, as he asked her whether she would be paying back the money for the three gifts she receieved herself while working as an MP for the last seven years.
She sheepishly replied: “I am investigating whether that is possible because the tickets weren’t for sale, I was a guest at the .”
A little while later, Ed asked: “Did going to the Proms help you do your job?” She replied: “Well there’s an argument there isn’t there. If you look at it through a lens of I’ve been to three things in seven years, then that doesn’t seem like much.
“If you look at it through the lens of did it help you do your job, maybe thats where the principles lie.”
Ed Balls is married to Labour’s Yvette Cooper (Image: Getty)
But as the put his questions forward to Ms Jones, fans of the show took to social media to make complaints. They suggested that Ed had something to hide himself, having once being Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from 2007 to 2010, and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2011 to 2015.
His wife, , is also currently a part of the government having served as Home Secretary since July 2024. Fans noted that there was no mention of whether or not Ed and Yvette had ever received freebies themselves.
One Twitter/X user wrote: “#gmb Wonder if Ed balls home secretary wife Yvette Cooper has received any gifts but nothing said when berk Balls is presenting.”
Another added: “It would be interesting to know if @edballs ever accepted gifts when he was sat on his high horse in Parliament and if he’s considering paying any of that back @GMB.”
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Ed questioned the MP on the freebies she received while failing to mention if he had any himself (Image: ITV)
A third quizzed: “@GMB has @YvetteCooperMP had any ‘gifts’ she needs to pay back @edballs?”
The debate comes as it emerged Sir has paid back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality he has received in recent months – including the cost of tickets to Taylor Swift and the races as well as clothes for his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer.
Gifts paid for by Sir Keir include four Taylor Swift tickets from Universal Music Group totalling £2,800, two from the Football Association at a cost of £598, and four to Doncaster Races from Arena Racing Corporation at £1,939.
The Prime Minister is now overhauling hospitality rules for ministers following the backlash over freebies.